Following my non-fiction book recommendations last week (all books written by women!), I’ve got some fiction recommendations for you this week! Whether or not you are looking for gift ideas for your loved ones or would like to find a book to read yourself over the holidays, there will hopefully be something here for you. I read some fantastic books this year (most from 2025, some earlier) and am more than happy to share them. Let’s get into my favourite fiction books of 2025!
My Favourite Fiction Books of 2025
As of the middle of December 2025, I’ve read 168 books this year, with over 110 of those being fiction. While I thoroughly enjoyed most of the books I read (I’m fairly good at choosing books I will like), there are some stand-outs that immediately jump out to me when I think of this reading year. Most were published in 2025 but one was from 2022.
And Then There Was the One, Martha Waters
In a quaint village in the Cotswolds, Georgiana Radcliffe has accidentally become an amateur detective after helping solve four murders in a single year. When the chairman of the village council turns up dead, everyone agrees with the official ruling of a heart attack, but Georgie can’t help but suspect that the council chairman is a fifth victim. Now, murder tourists are flocking from around the country, in hopes of becoming sleuths themselves.
Along with her reporter friend, she reaches out to a famous London detective for assistance in ascertaining why they have become a magnet for murder. But the fancy detective is simply too busy—or can’t be bothered—to help, and instead dispatches his secretary, Sebastian Fletcher-Ford—a posh womanizer who, truthfully, is just trying to get out of his hair, much to practical, no-nonsense Georgie’s dismay. But as they investigate in the charming Buncombe-upon-Woolly—with plentiful scones, sheep on the village green, and murder tourists at every turn—Georgie finds that her previous assessment of Sebastian may have been wrong, and rather than solving a murder, she may be solving for love instead.
Why You Should Read This…
This book is technically labelled as historical romance but I would actually say it sways more to historical mystery. The romance is definitely woven throughout and there are 1-2 chapters where the romance is the focus, but it is a lot more mystery. (There is nothing like Golden Age mysteries, am I right?)
This book made me laugh out loud several times- I went to read it at the botanical gardens and I had several people double-take to stare at me after I laughed a little too loud. We have the Murder Tourists (a proper noun, thank you very much) visiting the village following multiple murders, and they join a cast of off-kilter characters who will keep you laughing. And the humour is perfectly nestled amongst the cosy vibes, which are 100% what we need as autumn sets in.
My Full Review: https://anhistorianabouttown.com/book-bite-and-then-there-was-the-one/
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, Hwang Bo-Reum
Yeongju did everything she was supposed to, go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop.
In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster, and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju – they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live.
Why You Should Read This…
I read this book in January of 2025, and as we approach the end of the year, it still stands out to me. It is cosy and heartwarming but also leaves you pondering your own life and what directions you could take. (But without the stress and panic that often accompany books prodding you to look forward…)
As you meet Yeongju, her friends and family, and her beloved patrons, you slowly explore their lives, their hopes, their dreams, their difficulties. It is not an info-dump but rather a slow peel back on their characters and it makes for the most pleasant and relaxing reading experience.
I also believe that reading this in the depths of winter greatly contributed to my love of this book. When it is cold and frigid (like -30C frigid), there is nothing like a book to help you see the good in people, and to know that everyone is making their way through as best they can.
Austen at Sea, Natalie Jenner
In Boston, 1865, Charlotte and Henrietta Stevenson, daughters of a Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice, have accomplished as much as women are allowed in those days. Chafing against those restrictions and inspired by the works of Jane Austen, they start a secret correspondence with Sir Francis Austen, her last surviving brother, now in his nineties. He sends them an original letter from his sister and invites them to come visit him in England.
In Philadelphia, Nicholas & Haslett Nelson—bachelor brothers, veterans of the recent Civil War, and rare book dealers—are also in correspondence with Sir Francis Austen, who lures them, too, to England, with the promise of a never-before-seen, rare Austen artifact to be evaluated.
The Stevenson sisters sneak away without a chaperone to sail to England. On their ship are the Nelson brothers, writer Louisa May Alcott, Sara-Beth Gleason—wealthy daughter of a Pennsylvania state senator with her eye on the Nelsons—and, a would-be last-minute chaperone to the Stevenson sisters, Justice Thomas Nash.
It’s a voyage and trip that will dramatically change each of their lives in ways that are unforeseen, with the transformative spirit of the love of literature and that of Jane Austen herself.
Why You Should Read This…
This book was a slow start for me, I will admit. It took me a little bit longer to hook into the story than usual but once I did, I was fixated. Jenner’s ability to weave major themes into her books is one of her major strengths, and in this book, we explored the themes of suffrage and women’s rights- something that is more important than ever. Without her intending to, I think that Austen’s books explore these themes and it worked so well as the basis for the story.
Without spoiling anything, we also get a somewhat unexpected group discussing Austen and it was quite funny for me, a lighter moment that truly shone through for me.
As you might think, Rupert Graves’ narration was fantastic. He brought such depth to all of the characters. And on a practical note, he handled the accents superbly!
My Full Review: https://anhistorianabouttown.com/book-bite-austen-at-sea/
The Queens of Crime, Marie Benedict
London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment.
May Daniels, a young English nurse on an excursion to France with her friend, seemed to vanish into thin air as they prepared to board a ferry home. Months later, her body is found in the nearby woods. The murder has all the hallmarks of a locked room mystery for which these authors are famous: how did her killer manage to sneak her body out of a crowded train station without anyone noticing? If, as the police believe, the cause of death is manual strangulation, why is there is an extraordinary amount of blood at the crime scene? What is the meaning of a heartbreaking secret letter seeming to implicate an unnamed paramour? Determined to solve the highly publicized murder, the Queens of Crime embark on their own investigation, discovering they’re stronger together. But soon the killer targets Dorothy Sayers herself, threatening to expose a dark secret in her past that she would do anything to keep hidden.
Why You Should Read This…
The story is framed around the women wanting to prove themselves to their male contemporaries by solving a real crime, a story that feels rather relevant even in 2025. Because you can’t very well have five people wandering around investigating everything together, you get some very interesting combinations throughout the novel. (The different pairings allowed us to dive into different aspects of each author’s life and career, and I think it works perfectly.)
Bessie Carter’s narration for the audiobook is sublime, as always. (Yes, the Bessie Carter who is the daughter of Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter and was Prudence in Bridgerton.) She has quickly become one of my favourite narrators and I will continue to look out for her next projects!
My Full Review: https://anhistorianabouttown.com/book-bite-the-queens-of-crime/
The Queen Who Came in From the Cold, SJ Bennett
It’s 1961 and the Queen is planning her state visit to Italy aboard Britannia. But before she goes, an unreliable witness claims to have seen a brutal murder from the royal train. Did it really happen, and could the victim be a missing friend of Princess Margaret’s new husband, Tony Armstrong Jones?
The Queen and her assistant private secretary, Joan McGraw, get to work on their second joint investigation, little imagining that this time it will take them all the way to Venice in a tale of spies, lies and Cold War skulduggery.
Why You Should Read This…
If you are intrigued but haven’t read the first four books, don’t worry- this can be read as a stand alone.
Her Majesty and her assistant, Joan, are on the case when the royal train passes by a murder scene. Not only do we have the understated curiosity of the beloved monarch, we are diving further into the royal family as a whole and the characters that surround them. I have always found Princess Margaret to be fascinating, so I loved her inclusion- she made the story all the more fun. And her wider entourage is in no way short of entertainment.
The historical setting also fleshes out the story nicely. Not only do we have the background of The Queen’s trip to Venice aboard Britannia (and an associated voyage), we have got the early 1960s complete with James Bond about to take over. Bennett has a lovely way of blending history with her fictional story that makes it all the more rich, and it really pays off here.
My Full Review: https://anhistorianabouttown.com/book-bitethe-queen-who-came-in-from-the-cold/
The Rushworth Family Plot, Claudia Gray
Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney understand each other perfectly; it’s a pity their families do not. A series of misunderstandings, misplaced pride, and—indeed—prejudice, has led their parents to deem the pair unsuited to wed. Now, with the Season approaching, Juliet has been sent to London with a new wardrobe and orders to prove herself worthy of someone better than the snobby Darcys.
Meanwhile, Jonathan has been forced to accept an invitation to stay with old friends Edmund and Fanny Bertram at the house of Edmund’s brother, Sir Thomas. Oblivious to and undesiring of female attention other than Juliet’s, Jonathan is in danger of being ensnared by Caroline Bingley’s plans to make herself—or her daughter—mistress of Pemberley.
But when the former husband of Edmund’s sister Maria, Mr. Rushworth, is discovered dead, Jonathan and Juliet find themselves with problems far weightier than the marriage market.
In one of the greatest scandals of its day, Maria abandoned her husband for the notorious rake Henry Crawford and, when he wouldn’t marry her, was forced to flee to the continent in disgrace. Now Maria is back, with a daughter she claims Mr. Rushworth fathered after their divorce—and who he wrote into his will just before his death.
Now Jonathan and Juliet must unmask a killer before the drama surrounding the Rushworth family fortune claims another victim.
Why You Should Read This…
When I say that I savoured every single page of this book, that is not an understatement. I was constantly left guessing what would happen next with several surprises, and I didn’t want to stop reading.
This series tackles the “should we continue on Austen’s stories?” issue very well. Gray does not try to mimic Austen’s writing structure, tone, or general plot lines, and that is good- I find that that often invites the most criticism. She has taken this wider, extended universe but made it her own. Because we have shifted into murder mysteries, it’s already a different feeling than Austen’s works, but that is a good thing- we are getting a whole new flavour.
I won’t call them twists per se, but there are many major plot points that I did not see come and added to the layers of the story. They are all accurate within the period, so while they were surprising, they were not jarring.
My Full Review: https://anhistorianabouttown.com/book-tour-the-rushworth-family-plot/
10 Marchfield Square, Nicola Whyte
The Paris Apartment meets Only Murders in the Building in this debut murder mystery with an intriguing cast of characters inhabiting a quirky block of flats in modern-day London.
When a minor criminal is murdered in the smallest residential square in London, elderly heiress and landlady Celeste van Duren recruits two of her tenants to investigate. Her cleaner, Audrey, knows everyone and is liked by all, while failed writer Lewis is known by no one. He hates his job, hates his life, and he’s not that fond of Audrey either—but Celeste is persuasive.
As they hunt for clues in and around the Square, they discover everyone has something to hide, including their fellow residents. Audrey and Lewis must find a way to work together if they’re to find the killer in their midst. Assuming of course, there’s just the one . . .
Why You Should Read This…
If you reference OMITB and you set your book in my favourite city in the world, I will always give it a try. And as I expected, I loved it! The characters are at the heart of the mystery, and we get a real range- they feel like actual people (not wholly good or wholly bad).
One aspect that I found more unique for mysteries is that there are multiple POV- you don’t get that a lot in mystery novels, and I very much enjoyed it. It allows you to investigate more (through our main characters) and to look at the murders through different eyes.
Nneka Okoye’s narration was also fantastic. She has a fairly steady voice, meaning that you aren’t distracted but she also clearly differentiated between characters. She has been added to my list of narrators to keep an eye out for!
My Full Review: https://anhistorianabouttown.com/book-bite-10-marchfield-square/
Cheers,
The Historian
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